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Articles 1 - 13 of 13
Full-Text Articles in Rhetoric
Womanist Pedagogy And Teaching Preaching: Black Women Preachers As Sources For Pedagogical Reflection, Courtney Buggs
Womanist Pedagogy And Teaching Preaching: Black Women Preachers As Sources For Pedagogical Reflection, Courtney Buggs
Sermon Studies
The preaching classroom is a place of exploration, interrogation, and reflection. For Black preaching women, it is also a place for deep introspection and wrestling with questions of self-identity, religious authority, and theological (un)certainty. In this essay I show how womanist pedagogy functions to intervene and disrupt harmful assumptions in the preaching classroom, such as who can preach, who should preach, and how preachers engage with Scripture. Using Black women preaching students as sources for reflection, I explore political clarity, risk taking, teaching with tenderness, active listening, and instructional agility, to aid womanist-informed pedagogues in attending to the range of …
“True Disciple”: Minister Louis Farrakhan's Eulogy Of Pastor Clay Evans And The Emergence Of The Son Of Abraham Rhetoric, Eugene L. Gibson Jr.
“True Disciple”: Minister Louis Farrakhan's Eulogy Of Pastor Clay Evans And The Emergence Of The Son Of Abraham Rhetoric, Eugene L. Gibson Jr.
Sermon Studies
In this essay, I examine Louis Farrakhan's eulogy for Pastor Clay Evans on December 7, 2019. Drawing from the work of Andre E. Johnson, the eulogy is an example of prophetic rhetoric that showcases the powerful emotional and spiritual connection that aligns with the tradition of prophetic speech. I argue, however, that Farrakhan, in producing this rhetoric, adopted a prophetic persona I call “Son of Abraham”– an African American prophetic rhetoric that is firmly grounded in the sacred teachings, beliefs, and subscriptions of one of the Abrahamic religions, that contains a bold truth of love and healing, that when intentionally …
Rhetoric Of Freedom: The Black Church And Jamal Bryant’S Sermon “Am I Ever Going To Get Out Of This?”, Konysha Wade
Rhetoric Of Freedom: The Black Church And Jamal Bryant’S Sermon “Am I Ever Going To Get Out Of This?”, Konysha Wade
Sermon Studies
Homiletics is a branch of rhetoric and religion that is defined as the art of preaching. All too common in fields of academia, including Homiletics, is a lack of inclusivity of African Americans. This paper will extend research that integrates and further centralizes African American homiletics, focusing on the notion of freedom in Dr. Jamal Bryant’s sermon “Am I Ever Going to Get Out of This?”
A Case For Homiletical Aesthetics: The Adorned Rhetoric Of Martin Luther King Jr., Timothy Y. Rhee
A Case For Homiletical Aesthetics: The Adorned Rhetoric Of Martin Luther King Jr., Timothy Y. Rhee
Sermon Studies
Despite the growing support of aesthetics within the field of homiletics, undercurrents of suspicion remain, particularly in Western evangelical settings. The reasons for this suspicion are far-reaching, ranging from theological concerns to unmerited fears regarding the handling of Scripture. Given this background, the adorned rhetoric of Martin Luther King Jr. provides a compelling case study for the indispensability of homiletical aesthetics. This study briefly overviews King’s use of artful rhetoric, exploring its origins and sociotheological factors that compelled beauty and adornment in the pulpit. This paper will argue that aesthetics in Christian preaching should be considered essential, especially when addressing …
From Decay To Redemption: Exploring The Theological And Rhetorical Dimensions Of C.A.W. Clark’S “The Worms Got Him”, Daylan Woodall
From Decay To Redemption: Exploring The Theological And Rhetorical Dimensions Of C.A.W. Clark’S “The Worms Got Him”, Daylan Woodall
Sermon Studies
The essay explores Reverend Caesar Arthur Ward Clark's sermon, "The Worms Got Him," as a remarkable representation of the black preaching tradition and a nuanced rhetorical masterpiece. Clark's vivid description of the Herod family graveyard, intricately woven with historical and biblical references, engages the audience in a nearly physical and moral journey. Through deft use of honed rhetorical techniques, Clark immerses the listeners in a journey through history and the Herodian graveyard, allowing them to witness the Herodian dynasty's moral decay personally.
Black Preaching As A Public Address To Cultural Trauma: The Eulogy Of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nicole D. Mcdonald
Black Preaching As A Public Address To Cultural Trauma: The Eulogy Of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nicole D. Mcdonald
Sermon Studies
The Rev. Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays delivered the final eulogy of his student and friend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 9, 1968 at Morehouse College. This rhetorical speech addresses the cultural trauma of King’s assassination by persuading the audience to continue King’s legacy, the nonviolent Civil Rights movement for all of humanity. Also, Mays’ eulogy engages the communal grief of the African American community mourning the loss of their leader. As such, Mays models the Black preaching response to cultural trauma, which derives from Jeffery Alexander’s Social Theory of Trauma. The Black preaching response consists of the following …
“Jesus Is Integrated”: The Black Sermon As Rhetorical Exercise In Radical Worldmaking, Theon E. Hill, Tyran Laws
“Jesus Is Integrated”: The Black Sermon As Rhetorical Exercise In Radical Worldmaking, Theon E. Hill, Tyran Laws
Sermon Studies
This essay analyzes Benjamin Mays' 1954 sermon to the World Council of Churches to argue that Black preaching offers a radical response to perspectives that portray racial justice advocacy as antithetical to the Christian Gospel. Through a close reading of Mays' sermon, the authors contend that Mays employs an implicit ontological metaphor, “Jesus is integrated,” to position racial integration and justice not only as civic responsibilities but as Christian duties. The sermon disrupts hegemonic ideologies that marginalize others, mobilizes the organizing power of the church, and positions churches as spaces for radical worldmaking around race. By drawing on metaphor theory, …
Introduction: Black Preaching And The Black Sermon As A Rhetorical Artifact, Andre E. Johnson
Introduction: Black Preaching And The Black Sermon As A Rhetorical Artifact, Andre E. Johnson
Sermon Studies
In this introductory essay for this special issue, I encourage scholars in the fields of homiletics and rhetoric to expand our understanding of homiletical and rhetorical theory by specifically concentrating on the unique rhetoric present in Black sermons. By examining the sermon as a rich rhetorical artifact, we can explore the nuanced elements of persuasion embedded within these messages. This analysis would highlight speakers' persuasive techniques and enhance the broader discourse on preaching and communication across various religious contexts. Engaging deeply with the rhetoric of Black sermons provides valuable insights that can improve our understanding of the dynamic interaction between …
Transatlantic Sermonizing: The Influence Of Changing Sermon Styles In Britain On Anglican Clergy In Colonial Philadelphia, Barry Levis
Sermon Studies
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, a significant change emerged in the style and content of sermons in the Church of England. Sermons focused less on sin and the threat of eternal punishment, features of the seventeenth century, and more on how to live a rational and agreeable life. These alterations occurred both because of political changes following the Hanoverian succession accompanied by the rise of the Whigs and also from the influence of the Enlightenment. These transformations arose not only in England but in her American colonies as well, primarily in the Middle Atlantic colonies. Large numbers of …
Recycling A Colonial Puritan Sermon: A Case Study, David M. Powers
Recycling A Colonial Puritan Sermon: A Case Study, David M. Powers
Sermon Studies
Notes which the teenager John Pynchon took in the 1640s as he listened to the Rev. George Moxon’s sermons in frontier Springfield, MA, have become the inspiration and the ingredients for sermon performances in 21st century New England. The project began with a word-for-word transcription of a symbol-for-symbol manuscript based on a code invented by Pynchon. Then a very few words which the notetaker skipped, in his rush to record just what he heard, were added to provide essential clarification. So, too, was introductory material to frame the experience by encouraging the listening congregation to “stretch” a bit to appreciate …
“Wild Mobs, To Mad Sedition Prone”: Preaching The American Revolution, Barry Levis
“Wild Mobs, To Mad Sedition Prone”: Preaching The American Revolution, Barry Levis
Sermon Studies
The Church of England in the American Colonies was really not a single institution. Because no local bishop governed the church in America, falling as it did under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, the clergy tended to have differing loyalties. Especially in the southern colonies, local vestries ruled the clergy because they controlled their stipends; therefore the clergy followed the lead of the local squirearchy and suppressed their personal views regarding independence. The New England Anglican clergy were equally in a difficult position. Midst the hostility of Puritanism and the Sons of Liberty, they seemed like an alien …
Preaching In Britain’S “Parish Church”: Sermons At London’S St. Paul’S Cathedral, In The Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries, Frances Knight
Preaching In Britain’S “Parish Church”: Sermons At London’S St. Paul’S Cathedral, In The Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries, Frances Knight
Sermon Studies
This paper will address the conference themes of ‘space, place and context’ with an examination of the development of preaching at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, over the course of two hundred years. Completely rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666, on a scale which was intended to rival St Peter’s in Rome, the new St Paul’s was explicitly designed as a Protestant cathedral. Preaching, therefore, was highly valued. Yet, despite the adoption of Wren’s ‘preaching box’ plan, speaking in the colossal space, potentially to a congregation of many hundreds, presented considerable challenges. As one would expect over a two-hundred-year …
The Sunday After The Tuesday: The 2016 Presidential Election In The Pulpit, Matthew Boedy
The Sunday After The Tuesday: The 2016 Presidential Election In The Pulpit, Matthew Boedy
Sermon Studies
The 2016 presidential election divided Christians along racial, economic, and theological lines. The central question of my study was how did ministers frame the election, if at all? Through analysis of transcripts of 47 sermons from across the country (14 states plus Washington D.C.), from multiple denominations and various sized congregations given on November 13 or thereabouts, I claim that the paradox of the dual citizenship of Christians was the predominant theme in these sermons. Second, only one minister directly endorsed a candidate and only a handful indirectly endorsed. Many preached a form of unity.